Landing project’s finances finalized

The overall financing package for The Landing redevelopment in downtown Fort Wayne closed Friday, according to officials with the Downtown Development Trust.

“All funding sources have provided their monies for the transaction,” Tom Neizer, a partner at Barrett McNagny, wrote in an email Thursday. “Tomorrow that money will flow down and into the appropriate development entities of The Landing I, LLC necessary to finance the ongoing redevelopment. We have, effectively, closed.”

The Landing, a more than $35 million mixed-use development near Fort Wayne's downtown riverfront, plans to mix 56,000 square feet of commercial offices, retail stores and restaurants with 70 housing units. The site runs along West Columbia Street between Harrison and Calhoun streets. The Landing is being developed by The Model Group.

The Model Group has helped transform neighborhoods in other cities, including Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati.

Over the years, The Landing has been a music haven, the site of block parties, Mardi Gras festivals and other events. In more recent years, the street has been scattered with restaurants, nightclubs and offices.

Development at the site began in February and is expected to be complete next summer.